Through Portals of Time A Sequel
by RiverCity
Summary: Sequel to 'One Moment in Time'
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Johnny sat quietly outside the door of his newfound "sister's" penthouse and reflected over the past few days. He couldn't believe that his life had changed as dramatically as it had in just three days. The moment he saw Alexis Davis step out of the elevator at the Port Charles hotel the first time, somehow, he knew his life would never be the same. He liked her instantly. She had fire, and humor and he totally enjoyed the fact that she could stop his boss mid-sentence with well-placed zingers.

Johnny resigned himself to a lifetime of grief when his little sister died. The memory of her still held power enough to bring him to his knees. He had loved her, adored her, and cared for her as if she had truly been his own. He tried very hard to leave her memory tucked away in the dark recesses of his heart. It simply hurt too much to think of her. At the moment of her death, he built a wall around his heart. No one would ever be able to get to him again. As much as he loved his little sister, he wasn't willing to let anyone capture his heart as completely as she had ever again.

It wasn't until Alexis entered his life that he began to deal with the pain of his little sister. Alexis was the only one who had been able to soothe his heart. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out the embossed card she gave him the night he first met her. The little card meant the world to him. It connected him to someone who willingly chose to love him again; just as his little sister chose to love him so many years ago. A sister that he gave a special nickname that was just between the two of them, and he smiled longingly as he softly whispered it to himself. "Lexie."

In allowing his heart to accept Alexis he began to feel alive again. He now wanted her to know what she did for him, by asking him to be her brother. Her total acceptance of him began a healing process he so desperately needed. So, in a moment of pure and total commitment to the woman who meant so much to him now, he gave Alexis his little sister's special nickname. Alexis was now his little 'Lexie' and his heart felt the rightness of it.

Placeing the card back into his wallet, his eyes fell on the picture of his mother. She wasn't really his mother. She was the woman who had raised him the first 15 years of his life. He never knew who his real mother was. All he knew was that she carelessly abandoned him when he was born and he had hated her ever since.

To Johnny, giving that woman even one thought was more than she deserved, so he shut her out of his mind as completely as he had shut her out of his heart. She wasn't worth the time it took to have a thought.

While Johnny sat out in the hall reflecting on the events of the past few days the night had given up its darkness to a new day. And within the safe and peaceful walls of the Port Charles penthouse the two people who meant the most to him in the world were slowly beginning to awaken after their first night together.

Sonny with his arms wrapped around Alexis, watched her sleep. He loved to watch her breathe. The slow rise and fall of her body as she breathed was like watching the sun rise to a new day over and over again. He lay quietly not wanting to move for fear of waking her before she was ready, so he lay there and, like Johnny, let the events of the past few days wash over him.

He was grateful to Alexis for securing Michael's custody for him. But, he was totally unprepared for the contract of adoption she placed in his hands the night before. Although he was shocked and overjoyed with the contract, what amazed him the most was the fact that she drew up the contract after his second meeting with her two weeks before. What did she see in him that would have allowed her to make such a bold move on his part? She hadn't even met Michael and didn't know a lot about Carly at the time. Alexis was a total surprise to him from the moment he first met her.

As he lay there daydreaming, inevitably his thoughts turned to his business. Sonny was angry with himself for letting things get so out of hand. It wasn't like him. And from what he heard from Alexis regarding the 'attempted take over', he resigned himself to the knowledge that he let his problems with Carly overwhelm his life to such an extent that he lost control of his organization. He needed to get it back and he needed to do it now. He uncharacteristically left himself wide open and vulnerable, and because of it an outsider was able to infiltrate his organization and get information she shouldn't have been able to get.

Sonny understood that the information was needed to gain custody of his son. But, if one person could come in and get that much information, then it was just a matter of time before someone else took the initiative. The longer Sonny lay there, the more anxious he became to get things going in order to regain control of his organization.

Alexis felt warm and contented this morning. She was enjoying lying there in Sonny's arms; resting in that still small moment between sleep and waking. For the first time in her life she slept in the arms of a man she loved and it had been the most peaceful sleep she could ever remember enjoying. Just as she was about to lift her head to kiss Sonny good morning she felt his arms grow tense around her. She gently pushed away from him in order to look up and saw that he was awake and deep thought.

"Hey there, would you like to come back down to earth and kiss an attorney good morning?"

"Well, I don't know about kissing an attorney, but I'd sure like to kiss you."

Sonny pulled her back to him and kissed her. He wanted to cocooned with her all day and let the world pass by without them. But, he knew he couldn't. He knew he wouldn't. There was a job to do today and it wouldn't be an easy one. As much as he loved the woman in his arms, he needed to take care of business today and he needed to have a serious talk with her. One he was sure she wouldn't enjoy. But, that would wait until this evening.

His kiss seemed preoccupied. There was something on his mind and she was afraid she already knew what it was. There were going to have to deal with how she accomplished the goal of retaining Sonny as Michael's legal guardian. Taking a deep breath she sat up beside him and leveled an intense gaze at him.

"Okay, you want to talk about it now?"

"No, I don't."

"We need to in order to get past it, Sonny."

"I know and we will. But, it will have to wait until this evening. There are things I have to take care of at the warehouse this morning."

"Just how mad at me are you?"

"Alexis, I'm not mad at you. You told me when this all started that your first priority was Michael and you would do whatever you had to for his protection. And, you did. And for that I am indebted to you. Now I have to go clean up the mess I've let my business get into. Can you give me a little time to process all of this and assess the damage that has been done?"

"Okay Sonny, but I need you to promise me something."

"If I can, I will."

"Don't shut me out."

"I won't. Just let me take care of business this morning." Sonny knew she could feel the distance he placed between them. He didn't want it there any more than she did, but he needed time to sort everything out. He also needed to take the look of concern off of her face. He needed to see her smile.

"Hey, how about I join you right here around 1:00 for a quick 'roll in the hay'?"

"Sweetheart, there's nothing quick about you and you've got a date. But before you leave sign the adoption papers on the table."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Alexis was standing at the kitchen sink with a cup of coffee thinking about her night with Sonny when she heard a knock on her door.

"Come on in, Johnny, coffee's on..." She knew it was Johnny by the sound of his knock.

Johnny walked in and went to the cupboard for a cup. Before he picked up the coffee pot he leaned over and kissed Alexis on the cheek.

"Morning, sis. Have a good night?"

Alexis looked up at him to see if he was picking on her and sure enough, Johnny winked at her with an 'I know what you did last night' look on his face. Alexis slapped him on the arm while her face turned a healthy shade of red.

"You better watch out, I know your boss."

"Hey, I'm not worried. I know his girlfriend."

Alexis laughed and leaned over to rest on his arm.

"You know, you're good for me. I think I'll keep you around awhile."

"Yeah, right. Like you really have a choice in the matter."

Alexis loved the friendly banter between them. It had been much too long since she enjoyed simple playful conversation. She needed more of these conversations in her life. Her life was entirely too serious. It was time for things to settle and be easy.

"Hey, Lexie."

"Hmm."

She was doing it again. He didn't have her full attention.

"HEY, LEXIE!"

"WHAT?"

"You know, you really need to stop wandering off like that."

"Oh, I didn't go far. Besides, it looks like I won't have any choice anymore about whether I wander off or not. You won't let me."

Johnny felt something tug at his memory, he let it pass and gently laughed at their silliness. Man, he felt good. It was going to be a long day, but he was ready for it. Sonny spoke to him just before he left and things were going to heat up fast. He had seen Sonny in this frame of mind before and the last time it led to an all-out war. He was hoping Sonny could clean up the mess before that happened again.

"Sis, I'm gonna have to leave you in Max's care today. Sonny's called a meeting of all the heads of the organization and I have to be there."

Alexis looked up at Johnny. She knew what that organization was all about and she had two very special men in her life now that were totally enmeshed in that business. As much as she loved them both, the thought quickly passed through her mind... 'It would probably have been better if I never met Sonny Corinthos and come to Port Charles'. As quickly as the thought surfaced, she got rid of it. She would endure anything to keep both of these men in her life now. And she was tired of running. She was tired of living with fear. This time she wasn't going to let fear win. She wasn't going to let what may or may not happen keep her from a life she felt she deserved.

"Johnny..."

Johnny could see something was troubling her; he laid his arm across her shoulder and spoke very softly as though she were a child.

"I'll take care of him. I won't let anything happen to him. I promise. It'll be okay."

"But, who's going to look after you? It's not just Sonny I'm worried about. I can't lose you either."

Johnny needed to hug his sister, to comfort her. He gently put his other arm around her and held her while he told her what she needed to hear.

"Lexie, before you came into my life. I didn't care what happened to me. But, that's just not true anymore. I want a life now. I want to know that someone loves me enough to worry about me. And it feels good to know that when I walk out that door this morning it won't be just to protect Sonny, I'll be watching out for myself as well."

"Thanks, Johnny."

"Are we ok here, now? Got all that serious stuff out of your system?"

"Yeah, you're off the hook," laughed Alexis.

"Greeaaat. You wear me out. What's on your plate today?"

"Well, I have to make a trip to the courthouse today to file Sonny's bid for adoption and then I'll meet Sonny back here. After that, I'm free the rest of the day. I do need to take a trip to New York to see how things are going at the office though. Maybe I'll do that tomorrow..."

"Okay, Max is outside and I have to get going. So, I'll see ya later."

"See ya, Johnny."

After Johnny left, Alexis went back to the bedroom to dress for her trip to the courthouse. Once she was ready she went to retrieve the adoption papers from the table to put them in her briefcase. She figured it wise to check that everything was in order with them before she reached the courthouse.

As she checked it over she satisfied herself with the legal jargon and turned to the last page to check the signatures. "Sonny Corinthos," that's fine, she thought, and the witness... "John Mitchell Cassadine..."

She stared at the name, looked toward the front door and then back to the name. "John Mitchell Cassadine!" Alexis slowly sank to her knees as the color drained from her face. She could feel it rising within her and knew she couldn't stop it. Terror has no boundaries; it eats you up from the inside out.

Her mind was chaotic with questions. There were so many she couldn't focus enough to begin to process it all. What she did know was that she needed space, she needed air. She couldn't breathe.

I have to get out of here, she thought. I can't be here... I can't be... I can't...

Alexis ran to the bedroom to pack. Within the hour she was on a plane headed back to New York without filing the adoption papers. She couldn't. Not until she knew more about 'him' and she had to know more. Not just for Michael's sake but for her own as well. Once she put some distance between herself and Port Charles she would be able to calm down enough to think more rationally.

Who was he? Did he know who she was? Why had she never heard his name? Did Stephan know him? Was he running from them just as she was? Or had he been sent to look for her? Helena! Helena! Just the thought of the name sent chills through her.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Alexis let herself into her Manhattan apartment, set her bags by the door and went to stand by the window, which looked out toward the western horizon. She needed it to be later in the day. She needed time with her mother and could only find that time in the evening as the sun set. She could feel herself erecting walls again. Even though her heart was filled with fear, her self-defense instinct had kicked in and was in full force. Time was what she needed right now. Time alone to think, to reason, to be able to make informed decisions about what needed to be done first.

The first thing to be done without a doubt was to make a phone call. The one call she hoped she would never have to make. The sole purpose of leaving Greece, the place of her birth, was to get away from her past and leave it there. She lived with the fear that someday, someone would pull her back into the insanity and cruelties those 'people' were capable of. Voluntarily re-opening those doors was tearing her up inside. The sheer magnitude of what she was about to do threatened to take away what little sanity she had left. Resigning herself to the task she bent slowly to pick up the phone.

She called Dixon. Dixon was the one person she knew who could find answers to questions that had never been asked. He was that good. She called Dixon when she wanted information on Carly. He never let her down when she needed information. He possessed the ability to turn himself into a shadow and lose himself in a crowd of one. She met him right after she took her first case. The case was high profile. A senator's child was kidnapped for ransom and Dixon had been able to locate the child and take down the kidnappers all on his own. They united and began a campaign together for the sake of children. She trusted him and he trusted her. They never made contact with each other unless a child was in danger.

Once she reached Dixon, she set up a meeting with him in a secluded part of Central Park. She had met him there several times in the past few years. And this time, she needed him not only for the protection of Michael, but for herself as well. She hadn't been willing to file the adoption papers for Sonny until she knew more about Johnny. The fact that she had been a willing participant in legally putting a child directly in the path of a Cassadine was numbing. She had seen first hand what Cassadines' did to children, especially those who didn't measure up to the required standard. There were physical as well as emotional scars to prove it. She lived with nightmares because of it.

As Alexis went about the business of finding out who was possibly trying to get to her and why, Sonny was just entering the Penthouse to spend time with her as they had planned that morning. He didn't see Max at the door and wondered if Alexis was able to finish her errands at the courthouse yet. The elevator opened behind him and Max stepped into the hallway. Alone.

"Where's Alexis?" he asked Max.

"I don't know boss. She asked me to go downstairs and get her some breakfast, when I got back I knocked on her door, she didn't answer. So, I used my key and went in. She wasn't there. I just came from downstairs to see if she went down there. I didn't find her."

"Did you look on the roof?"

"No, sir."

"Go look. And Max, I'll deal with you later."

As Max went to search the roof, Sonny went inside and walked into the bedroom. She was gone. The closet and drawers gaped open… empty. Sonny sat down on the bed and put his head in his hands trying to figure out why she would leave. He heard a movement at the door and looked up into Johnny's face.

"She's gone."

"What do you mean she's gone... Sonny?"

"She packed. Her stuff... it's gone."

"What did you do to her?"

"I didn't do anything." He screamed at Johnny.

"Then why did she leave? She said she might go to New York tomorrow to check on office things. She told me she would be here all day. She didn't tell you she was leaving?" Johnny was scared. He didn't want to regret letting her into his life.

"No. Before I left this morning we made plans to meet here at 1:00."

Sonny was going crazy. Did she actually go back to New York without telling him? What happened between the time he left and now that would cause her to leave? Sonny reached toward the nightstand and picked up the phone. He dialed her New York apartment number. He received her message that she would be out of town a few days. He then called her office and was again told she would be out of town a few days.

"Johnny, go to the airport. See if she in fact got on a plane to New York. Don't come back here until you have some answers. If you need help from the boys, fine, take all the help you need. I want to know where she is by the end of the day. You got that?"

"Yea, I got that!" Johnny had never spoken disrespectfully to Sonny before and didn't care that he did now. He didn't need Sonny in his face telling him to go find his own sister. His nerves were raw and he needed to get busy finding Alexis. He'd deal with the consequences of his heated words with Sonny later. He turned to walk out and stopped when he heard Sonny call him.

"Johnny!"

"Yea."

"I know what she means to you. I forgot for a moment, that's all. I'll be waiting to hear from you." Sonny was apologizing to Johnny for his words in the only way he knew how without actually saying it. Johnny understood.

"Right, boss. Just as soon as I know something..."

Sonny wanted to go find Alexis, but after his morning with the boys, he knew his organization was in worse shape than he originally suspected. He needed to stay on top of things. He would have to trust Johnny where Alexis was concerned. Although he knew there was no other choice at the moment, but it still angered him that he was tied down and couldn't do what he needed to do. Why would she leave like that? Did she leave because of something I said this morning? Sonny was slowly reaching the critical point and needed a release. He reached down and picked up the lamp off the nightstand and threw it. He watched it shatter against the wall and thought how similar it was to what was happening inside of him. He needed Alexis here, now.

Johnny met Max outside as Max was just coming from the roof.

"Well."

"She's not up there."

"Go find Carly. Make sure Carly isn't involved. Put out some of the boys to search. Start with the courthouse. Send one of the boys to check on Michael. Call me when you know something."

Two hours later Johnny knocked on Sonny's penthouse door.

"What have you got? Did you find her?"

"She arrived in New York around noon and went directly to her apartment. She hasn't checked in with her office yet. She made one phone call. We haven't been able to track down who she called yet."

Sonny picked up the phone and dialed her apartment number and got the same message again. She would be out for a few days. He turned to Johnny...

"Get the jet ready to go."

"It's already done and waiting for us."

Sonny swung his head up to look at Johnny.

"Sonny, I'm going. She's my friend... sister."

"Okay, man. Let's go."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Alexis was on her way back to her apartment from her meeting with Dixon after explaining what she needed from him. This was the first time in her dealings with him that he ever questioned her motives. For him, cases with her were strictly about defending and protecting kids. With this one the line between fighting for the rights of children and adults was more than just a little vague compared to all of the other cases he worked with her on.

In order to prove how much the case revolved around children, Alexis was forced to relate to him part of her past with the Cassadine family. Once he heard enough he cut her off and said he'd be in touch. Alexis knew she provided enough for him to be able to see the danger to Michael. They needed to know who Johnny was. While they were discussing what needed to be done Dixon received a call and quickly looked toward her.

"Somebody's tracking your moves. They know you made a call from your apartment."

"Do you know who it is?"

"Sonny Corinthos."

"Does he know who I called?"

"No. That information is sealed."

"Thank you. Let me know when you get something, Dix."

"No problem. Take care." He began making calls as soon as she left him.

Alexis knew she was going to have to talk to Sonny sooner or later. She had questions that needed to be answered and he might have some of those answers. But, she wanted to wait until she heard from Dixon before she questioned Sonny. She hailed a taxi and headed back to her apartment. Just as the taxi pulled to the curve across the street from her building she saw Sonny and Johnny enter her building. She wasn't ready to face Johnny yet. But she knew if she didn't speak to Sonny, he would never stop coming at her until he knew the truth. Alexis pulled her cellphone out of her pocket and called him.

"Corinthos here."

"Sonny, do not let on it's me on the phone." Sonny heard the tone of her voice and casually adjusted his body so Johnny couldn't see his face.

"Yeah, what have you got?" He questioned in a way Johnny would expect him to if the call was business related.

"I need you to get rid of Johnny then meet me at the coffee house across the street. Do not let him know you have spoken to me. I'll explain when I see you." Alexis hung up without giving him time to respond.

Sonny turned to Johnny.

"It's not good."

Sonny watched Johnny's face pale and realized that Johnny thought he was talking about Alexis.

"No, man. It's business. We've got a problem. Some of the boys are getting out of hand. Johnny, I need to talk to Alexis. I know you need to see her too but I need you to go back to Port Charles and find out what's going on. I'll call you just as soon as I see her, whether she's ok or not."

Alexis positioned herself in a booth at the coffee house so she could see the front door of her building without being seen herself and she held her breath. She watched Johnny come back out and hail a taxi. Once he left sight, she watched Sonny come out and cross the street toward her. She straightened her back and consciously put on her best face. It was a no-nonsense frame of mind and it served her very well. As much as she wanted to believe that Sonny never heard of the Cassadine's she just couldn't leave any stone unturned in trying to find out all she could about 'John Mitchell Cassadine'. And if using Sonny to get the information she needed was the only way to do it, as much as she didn't want to, she would.

Sonny walked into the coffee house and looked around. His face relaxed when he saw her. He started toward her and the closer he got, the more he realized that something was definitely going on. He could see it on her face. When he got to the table he sat down and reached to cover her hand with one of his. He needed to make a connection with her. Needed to touch her.

"Do you know I've got half of Port Charles looking for you?"

"I'm sorry, Sonny. I should have called you. But, I received a call from one of my clients today. He's in trouble. He used his card to get to me. I couldn't let him down."

As the waitress walked up to the table with a cup for Sonny, Alexis used the distraction to pull her hand out from under Sonny's and laid it in her lap. Her walls were firmly in place.

"Alexis, honey, I understand that, but you should have called. Johnny and I have been going out of our minds."

"Sonny, when a little boy calls, I run. I don't think about anything else but the child. And this particular child is in real trouble."

Alexis was telling half-truths and as much as she hated it she knew there was no way around it. There was no choice. Michael could be in real danger and only she knew just how much danger could be involved if Johnny was one of 'them'.

"In fact, the troubles that are facing this little boy are causing me concern for myself regarding Johnny."

"Alexis, what do you mean, Johnny loves you. He wouldn't hurt you."

"I know he loves me and I love him too, but four days ago I had never laid eyes on him before. I don't know anything about him or his past. And that frightens me a little."

Something suddenly clicked with Sonny. When he and Alexis were in bed last night he noticed scaring on her arms and legs. He even noticed scarring on her back. Being cautious of bringing bad memories up on their first night together; he remained quiet. He now found himself wondering about her past and could understand why she was questioning Johnny's.

"There's not a whole lot I know about Johnny before he started working for me, but I'll tell you all I know about him."

"Thank you, Sonny, that would help a lot."

"I met Johnny in Puerto Rico several years back. Well, we weren't exactly introduced. I found myself lying face down in the sand one night when that big oaf tackled me. He saw one of my enemies coming at me with a pistol aimed at my back and he knocked me down out of the way. I was just beginning to build my organization and there were a lot of people out there trying to stop me. Johnny happened in on one of their attempts. He was a street junkie at the time. He didn't have a home and no family to speak of. He just wandered the streets day in and day out. He stole to survive. Just like I did. I took him in and made him my bodyguard. We've been together ever since."

"He didn't have any family at all?"

"None that I could tell. He never spoke of having any until Michael was born. He was at the hospital with me one night and we were standing in front of the nursery and when I looked at him, he was white as a sheet and sweat was pouring off him. I asked what was wrong, but he wouldn't look at me; he just stared at some baby on the other side of the glass. You should have seen his face. The torment that guy was going through was unreal. He told me he had a little sister once. She died. He called her 'Lexie'. I don't know anything about the little girl. He's never talked about her since, or at least he didn't until you came along. It seems she came down with pneumonia and it wasn't caught in time; she died from complications. That's about all I know." Sonny left out part of the story, but he wasn't ready for her to know it yet. Not yet.

"Thank you, Sonny."

Alexis listened while Sonny related to her what he claimed he knew about Johnny. She wasn't ready to believe that he told her everything. What she needed now was for him to go back to Port Charles so she could get on with what she needed to do.

"It looks like I may be tied up here in the city for a while with this case. I have to finish it. Is Michael okay?"

"He's fine, Alexis. And don't worry take whatever time you need to clear it up. I have to go back to Port Charles. I'm needed there. Would you like me to give Johnny a message for you?"

"Yes, if you wouldn't mind."

She needed to give Johnny just enough to keep him satisfied and out of the way for now. Alexis took a small notebook out of her bag and began to write a brief note to Johnny explaining that a child was in trouble. She told him she would see him as soon as she could, and not to worry. She signed it simply 'Alexis'. Looking at her watch she began to gather her things.

"I hate to do this, but I have a meeting I must get to. Why don't I call you tonight and check in with you?"

"That would be great. Oh, by the way, you might want to change the message on your answering machine. You know, update it."

Sonny leaned over to kiss her good-bye and wondered at her hesitation. Well, it was probably because they were in a public place he told himself as he turned to go.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Alexis struggled through the next few days waiting on word from Dixon. She went to her office after meeting with Sonny to check in and was greeted with a stack of mail and a few potential client assessments. Thinking it would probably be best to keep busy, she accepted a couple of cases and began an investigation of her own on another family. She worked from daylight to dawn as she dug in to wait for a call from Dixon. She kept as much distance as she could from Sonny without alerting him to anything being wrong and used him as a liaison to Johnny. She didn't trust herself to keep her tone of voice from betraying her so she talked to Johnny through Sonny.

Dixon finally called on the fourth day and requested a meeting.

They met in their usual place and Alexis waited for Dixon to fill her in.

"Ok, this is what I have so far. He came here from Puerto Rico with Sonny Corinthos. According to eyewitnesses he put himself between an angry racketeer and Corinthos. He took a bullet in his right shoulder that would have killed Corinthos. While he was in Puerto Rico he did jail time on more than one occasion in the defense of kids who were being mistreated. It seems our buddy here hates violence of any kind where kids are concerned. Kind of like you and me. I keep hitting roadblocks when I try to find anything previous to Puerto Rico. It's like someone has very carefully erased his existence up until that point. He doesn't have any friends to speak of and never gets too far away from Corinthos. It seems Corinthos took this guy under his wing and gave him a home. I am still attempting to find something on him previously. I'll let you know if I do."

"Dix, from what all you've heard and found, what is your initial impression of this man?"

"From what little I do know, this is the kind of man, I'd want on my side. He seems to have very high principles and lives by a code of honor. Some of the people I've talked to have been pretty graphic in what they've seen him do when it comes to protecting life, the life of anyone that he believes cannot protect themselves. I'm surprised he isn't serving a life sentence. It looks like Corinthos may have had a hand in preventing that as well. Need anything else?"

"No. Thanks, Dix. Keep me posted."

"You bet."

Alexis got up and began walking toward the park exit. Most of the story Sonny related to her checked out. He hadn't told her about Johnny being shot though. None of this made any sense. Nothing she had heard about Johnny reminded her of 'the Cassadine way' in the least. It seemed as if Johnny in his own way was trying to run as far and as fast as she was away from that island in Greece, if he was indeed connected to it in some way. At this point, she just didn't have enough information to work with and she was reluctantly coming to the conclusion that she was going to have to approach Johnny himself for the answers to her questions. Alexis reached her apartment just as the phone began to ring. She noticed it was Sonny's number showing on the caller-ID she kept by the phone.

"Hello."

"Alexis, it's Johnny. You.. need to come. It's Sonny."

"Johnny? What is it? What's happened?"

"He's been shot."

"Who, Johnny? Who did it?"

"Carly."

"I'm on my way. Tell him... I'm on my way."

Johnny turned from the phone and fell forward across the couch. Johnny took two bullets that had been meant for Sonny. As he jumped toward Sonny to push him away he felt the first hit him in the side and the one that would have finished Sonny off, he took in the left lung. He was able to keep it together long enough to call Max for Sonny and to make the call to Alexis. He had done his job. He could rest now. He let the blackness engulf him and a small smile touched his lips as he saw one last face pass in front of him. Alexis.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Alexis entered General Hospital running. She had the taxi driver deliver her to the emergency room entrance and she went to the nurse's station.

"Excuse me, please. Can anyone tell me where I can find Mr. Sonny Corinthos?"

One of the nurses turned around and politely asked who she was and what relation she was to Mr. Corinthos.

"My name is Alexis Davis, I'm his attorney."

The doctor she noticed upon entering the ER turned and approached her.

"Miss Davis, I've been expecting you. He is awake and alert. The bullet entered his body just below the collar and made a clean exit. He was very lucky, however, his bodyguard wasn't."

"His bodyguard?"

"Yes, I believe he is referred to by his first name... Johnny."

"Johnny?" Alexis felt herself losing consciousness and willed herself stay in the moment.

"Is he...?"

"He's alive, but barely. He took two bullets meant for Corinthos."

This couldn't be happening. She couldn't lose someone else. She just couldn't. Alexis was in trouble. Her heart was fighting to stay with the men she loved but in her mind, she wanted to run. Run as far and as fast as she could to keep herself safe from pain, from loss. Her heart won the battle; she wouldn't leave them. She needed both of them too much. Alexis didn't know which one to go to first. They both meant so much to her. Sonny, the one she loved with all of her heart and desperately needed, or Johnny, her self-adopted brother whom she also loved and had been investigating. She went to Sonny.

She quietly entered his room and saw that he was indeed awake and seemed to be waiting for her. She walked over to him and leaned down to kiss him resting her hand lovingly on his cheek. She could tell he was very agitated.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I need you to check on Johnny. Alexis, he did it again. He stepped right in front of me. I couldn't stop him...didn't have time to. She came at me and fired and when she started to again, he was there. He didn't hesitate. He just stepped in front of me. That's what I've paid him to do all along, but, Alexis... it was Johnny." Sonny was scared. Johnny was a trusted friend to him, but Johnny meant so much more to Alexis and if he died because of what he had done for him...

"I remember what he did back then. I remember how it made me feel to know that someone cared about life, anyone's life, enough to protect it that way. He wouldn't lay down, Alexis. He wouldn't stop until he called Max and then... you. He refused to think about himself until I was taken care of. I need to know where he is. I need to know if he's... alive. Find him, Alexis. Find him."

"Shh... Sonny. Shh. I'll go check on him right now. He's here, he's alive."

Alexis couldn't tell him how serious it was yet. She needed him to calm down for his own safety. And she needed to get to Johnny. She went back out to the corridor and stopped the first nurse she saw.

"Excuse me, can you tell me where they've taken Mr. Corinthos' bodyguard?"

"Yes, he is two doors down on your right. But, he's not conscious at this time."

"Thank you."

Alexis turned toward where the nurse pointed and stopped outside his door. She steeled herself to accept what she would see and quietly opened the door. She wasn't prepared... She saw him lying there and in that one moment, who he was no longer mattered. This was her brother, they had chosen each other; they had wanted to be a part of each other's life. She needed him in her life more than she realized. Looking at him here, like this, it stunned her to also realize just how much it would cost her if she lost him. Whether it was by death or to 'them'.

He looked almost... dead as he lay there with tubes coming out of what seemed every part of his body. She saw the faint rise and fall of his chest and needed to touch him. She needed to feel his chest rise and fall. Trembling she walked over to the side of his bed and carefully laid the palm of her hand on his chest.

"Johnny, it's Lexie. Can you hear me? Johnny?"

He didn't move. He didn't wake. He just lay there. Alexis pulled a chair up beside the bed and sat down. As she sat there she placed her hand is his and laid her head down on the side of the bed and quietly let the tears fall. She knew she needed to tell Sonny that Johnny was still alive, but she couldn't leave him yet.

"Johnny, Sonny's fine. You saved his life. You did your job."

Somewhere in the recesses of Johnny's mind he faintly heard her voice and relaxed. She was here. She had come just like she said she would. He had trusted her and she didn't let him down.

"Johnny, you guys need to take turns at this sort of thing. I don't know which room to be in."

Alexis was trying to let him know that everything was ok and knew he heard some part of what she was saying when she felt him very weakly squeeze her hand. He was not conscious, and he was not out of danger yet. But, he somehow heard her.

"Hey big brother, if you'll promise to behave, I'll go report to Sonny and be right back, ok?

As she left his room to go to Sonny she heard the alarm go off in Johnny's room. She tried to get back in, but there was such a rush of people running by her into his room she couldn't get in. She anxiously waited outside, waited for someone to tell her what was happening.

Several minutes later a nurse finally came out of Johnny's room and Alexis asked her what happened.

"He flat-lined. We had a pretty difficult time bringing him back, but we made it. He is by no means out of the woods yet. But, at least he is still alive. The amount of blood he lost is making it difficult to keep him with us. You won't be able to go in for a while; they need to make sure he is as comfortable as possible. It's going to be a long night for him."

"Thank you. Thank you." Alexis knew she needed to stay with Johnny, but before she could she had to talk to Sonny.

"Sonny?" As she entered his room she found him trying to get out of bed.

"Alexis, what's going on? I heard an alarm. Is it Johnny? Did you find him?"

"Yes, Sonny. I found him and he's alive. Sweetheart, you have to stay in bed. He's got an army of doctors in there right now making sure he's comfortable for the night. Please calm down. Are you alright?"

"I want out of this bed. I want to see for myself that Johnny's ok?

Alexis knew Sonny was having a hard time dealing with Johnny being shot because of him and she knew she needed to calm him down any way she could.

"How about I find a dotor to come in and talk to you?"

"Would you mind? I need to know."

"Be right back?"

As Alexis left his room she thought to herself. If it were anyone other than these two particular men, the situation would be hysterical. She knew it was going to be a long night running back and forth between the rooms. She looked toward the nurse's station to see if the doctor she spoke to earlier was still there. He was. This time as she approached him, she checked his ID for his name.

"Dr. Jones, may I have a moment of your time, please?"

"How can I help you, Miss Davis?"

"I have a very disturbed client over there who is working himself into a frenzy because he's worried about his friend down the hall, and I was wondering if you could help me figure a way of appeasing him until he's in better condition to be told the truth."

"Miss Davis, I believe Mr. Corinthos is capable of knowing the truth about his bodyguard now. His condition is not so bad that knowing the truth would cause further damage."

"Do you think a wheelchair ride two doors down would cause any damage?"

"I don't think I would go that far yet, but, maybe I have another solution that would make it easier on you as well. Why don't we move Mr. Corinthos into the cubicle beside his bodyguard first thing in the morning."

"Would that put any undue stress on Johnny?"

"We have sedated Johnny enough to hopefully keep any outside influence from registering with him."

"Okay, if you don't think any further harm will come to them by the move then I will let him know of the move scheduled for in the morning."

"No more harm than normal given their career choice" he mumbled as he walked off.

Alexis heard the statement and called him back.

"Dr. Jones, I would appreciate it if in the future you kept your opinions to yourself when dealing with my clients. They have enough to deal with without having snide remarks made by uninformed personnel possibly getting back to them. Do I make myself clear?"

"I apologize, Miss Davis. I was out of line."

"Thank you."

Alexis walked back towards Sonny's room to give him the news and found him asleep. She leaned over and gently kissed him on the forehead so as not to disturb him and left to go to Johnny.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Johnny was dreaming. He had not suffered through this particular one since he left Puerto Rico with Sonny to start his life over in Port Charles. Everyone who knew the full story thought that he saved Sonny's life. In truth, it was Sonny who saved his. Sure he took a bullet for the man, but up until he met Sonny he had just been existing from day to day with no purpose. Not caring whether he lived or died. Sonny took him in and gave him his dignity back. The dreams finally stopped.

It was always the same dream. He was just a small boy when he found her. She was crying so hard and all he wanted to do was get her to stop. He didn't know how but he knew who did. So he carefully picked up the child and took her home. Nana would know what to do. His dream always skipped time and picked up a few years later. Lexie was four and she adored him. No matter where he went she was always right by his side. The only time he ever became frustrated with her was when she wandered off. Johnny was always having to go out and find her. Then came that last night. It was storming and Lexie was out there. He couldn't find her. He ran and ran, looking everywhere, shouting for her.

He searched every little street in the village. When he looked everywhere he knew to look, he finally looked up toward the big house on the cliffs and knew he would have to go there. He was told to never go there. Nana told him with tears in her eyes that it was an evil place and he was never to go there. But he had to find Lexie. So he went. His dream skipped through time again and he dreamed of holding Lexie in his arms as she died. His last remembrance in the dream was having Lexie being taken from him. Always when the dream came he felt physical pain, as if his skin were on fire.

Alexis heard him screaming before she got to his door and began to run. Reaching the side of his bed she placed her hand on his forehead.

"Johnny? Johnny! It's me. It's Lexie. I'm here. Johnny, can you hear me?"

Johnny faintly heard a voice soothing him. It sounded so much like little Lexie when she teased him. She would call to him 'Johnny, Johhhhnn - -ny come find me. Bet you can't find me. Come find me, Johnny.'

"Lexie? Lexie? Where are you? I'm coming to find you."

Alexis laid her head on his shoulder and listened, as this strong man became a boy again, running and playing with the little sister he had so adored. Her tears soaked the hospital gown that lay over him. She felt him grow quieter as he dreamed of his little sister so she let go of his hand and turned to go check on Sonny.

When she reached half way between the two rooms she leaned against the wall and slowly slid to the floor with her arms draped across her knees and head bowed low. She didn't know if she could take much more. The two men who meant the world to her were both lying in a hospital having been shot. And one of them seemed to be connected to her somewhere in her past. A past she didn't want to resurrect. How did she get to this place in her life? She needed time with her mother and missed her tonight. There wouldn't be any nightmares though. Nightmares were only found in sleep and tonight she wouldn't sleep. She would travel from room to room until she could take them both home. And she would take both of them home one way or another. Alexis slowly stood back up and continued on to Sonny's room. As she entered she found him awake.

"Hey, how are you feeling?"

"I'm better. How's Johnny?"

"He's resting right now. We had a bit of a scare with him earlier, but he pulled through."

"Alexis, I need to see him."

"I know. I talked to Dr. Jones while you were asleep. You are going to be moved into the cubicle next to Johnny first thing in the morning. They don't want to disturb him tonight."

Sonny took her hand in his and raised it to his lips kissing it gently.

"That's not where those go buster. You're wasting them."

Sonny gently laughed and pulled her closer to get it right. After few moments of cuddling and verbal reassurances Alexis lifted her head and sat down on the stool next to the bed wrapping her hands around one of his and brought it close to her heart.

"Care to tell me what happened?"

Sonny gazed at her lovingly and began to tell her what happened.

"Carly went a little nuts after she signed the divorce papers..."

"A little nuts. Don't you think that's an understatement?"

"Okay a lot of nuts. She was tearing around town causing all kinds of chaos. And it didn't much matter who she took down with her. Problem was she started spreading rumors inside the organization. Things were already strained because I let my control slip, grow lenient, while I was married to her. She demanded so much time and I was always having to clean up the messes she made. The boys lost respect for me. They began listening to her and a few of them thought that maybe they could make a name for themselves by siding with her against me. She's nothing but consistent, and evidently my hiring practices have been slipping lately. I had Max and Johnny bring her to the penthouse this morning. I explained to her that I could still have her put away any time I wanted to and the best thing for her would be to just leave town. I offered to give her enough money to start over somewhere else. She went insane. Next thing I know she pulled a gun and started shooting. That's what happened."

"Sonny, why didn't you call me? I would have taken care of it before she got out of hand."

"Alexis, can't you see what you did when you decided to handle my problem without consulting me? What little control I was left with before you 'handled things' ceased to exist. A woman infiltrated my organization and stopped a take over. While I understand why you did it, my reputation has suffered because of it. They don't trust me now. I have to rebuild the organization all over again from the ground up. That's going to take time and it could very well get dirty."

"And I also understand where you're coming from, Sonny, but I can't help but be concerned about Michael. Where will he be in the middle of all of this rebuilding? I don't regret what I did. It was the only way to accomplish what you wanted legally."

"I know that's how you see it. But, I think if we had discussed it first, maybe we could have come up with a better way to deal with it and still have gotten the same result."

"Sonny, I don't want to fight with you over this. It's done."

"We are not going to fight over it. You're right it's done. You did what you had to do and now I have to do what I have to do. Now, can we stop talking for awhile?"

"Sure, I need to go check on Johnny anyway." Alexis was more than just a little irritated. She knew enough about 'organizations' to know that things were going to get ugly. And Sonny would be right in the middle of it. She didn't want to lose him, but the obvious question remained. How was she going to keep him in her life if he chose to ignore the very law she was sworn to uphold?

"Is that what you're going to do all night. Go from one room to another?"

"Yes. It's what I do. And I won't argue about that either."

"Ok fine, but can I at least have a kiss before you go?"

Alexis knew he was patronizing her. And she knew why. Neither one of them would back down from what they thought was right, nor would they ever see eye to eye on his business. She didn't know where they would end up once the dust settled. All she knew was that right now, in this hospital, she had to be with him. She leaned over and kissed him with all of her heart. She loved him and that was the only thing she was sure of at the moment.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Johnny was still unconscious when she re-entered his room. He didn't look to be dreaming any longer and she was glad. He needed to rest and dreams tended to interrupt a person's rest. That was a fact she was forced to learn at an early age.

Alexis sat down on the stool beside him and gently took his hand in hers. She wanted to make contact with him just in case somewhere in his mind he could feel her. To know that she was there for him just as he had been for her.

"Johnny? Can you hear me? I'm here. I won't leave you. I need my big brother right now. Can you come back to me? Can you 'come find me'?"

She used the words he had used while he had been dreaming earlier hoping to make a connection.

Johnny heard her. He wanted to go to her.

"Lexie? Are you there?"

Alexis leaned closer, she heard him mumble something, but hadn't been able to understand him. So she tried again.

"Johnny! Come find me. Come find me. Can you come find me?"

"Le..xie... Lexie." Johnny slowly opened his eyes and looked straight into the eyes of Alexis. He frowned for a moment. She wasn't who he expected to see.

Alexis understood why he frowned and before he could slip back into the void he had been in she spoke to him again.

"Hey, big brother. You gonna leave me hanging out here all by myself?" She waited a moment hoping he would respond.

He turned his head slightly, tried to wink and almost inaudibly said, "No".

"That's all I wanted to hear. Rest now. I'll sit here with you while you rest."

She felt him try to squeeze her hand. "So..Son..."

"Don't worry Johnny, I just left him and he's already trying to give me orders. It's taking a little longer to train him than I thought it would. He'll see you in the morning, love. Close your eyes. Rest."

Johnny gave her a weak smile and drifted off to sleep.

Alexis lay her head down next to his and shared his pillow just for a few moments and then left to go sit with Sonny.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

It had been a long night; she split her time between Sonny and Johnny's. She was tired, more than she could ever recall being before. Sonny was resting easy and Johnny was still hanging on.

She was sitting with Sonny the next morning when Dr. Jones came in to ask if they were ready to join Johnny down the hall. Sonny was proving to be a most impatient patient.

"What took you so long? Let's go."

"Mr. Corinthos, My name is Dr. Tony Jones. We needed to make sure of Johnny's condition before we took the chance of disturbing him unnecessarily. I'm sure you can understand and show a little more patience, can't you?"

Alexis stood quietly turning her back to Sonny and shot a cold meaningful look toward the doctor.

"I believe you and I have already discussed your attitude toward my client. If you can't hold your tongue, then find me a doctor who can."

She heard Sonny chuckle behind her but refused to look around until she made her point with Tony Jones.

"Yes, well. Let's see if we can get the show on the road then," replied Tony with a forced smile.

As Alexis turned back around Sonny saw the look she gave the doctor and his humor quickly left him. She was exhausted and in no mood for any kidding around. She needed sleep and he was worried about her.

"Alexis, honey, you need to find a bed and grab a few hours of sleep. The doc here can take care of me and I'll see to Johnny when I get in there. Go, get some rest."

"I'm not leaving Sonny. I'm staying right here. Don't try to change my mind."

"But, Alexis..." Sonny stopped mid-sentence when she looked him in the eye. He said no more to her.

"Let's go doc."

Half an hour later Sonny was moved into Johnny's room. When all orderlies and nurses left the room he turned to Alexis...

"Alexis, help me up."

"Sonny, you need to stay in bed."

"No, Alexis, ... help me up."

She wouldn't win this one and he was going to get up whether she helped him or not. So taking great care she placed her arm around his waist and helped him over to the side of Johnny's bed.

Sonny looked down at Johnny and laid a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, partner. You in there?"

Johnny stirred and opened his eyes slowly. He waited until his eyes focused and slightly turned his head toward Sonny. He wanted to see for himself that Sonny was okay and once he was satisfied, tried to speak.

"Le..xie." His throat was so dry it hurt to speak.

They both heard him and Alexis moved closer so he could see her.

"Johnny? I'm right here." Alexis wasn't sure if he was asking for her or if he was still looking for his little sister.

"Po...ker later?"

Alexis gently laughed. He knew where he was and he knew her. "When you get well, big brother, I'll beat your butt again. But, right now, I want you to rest. The more you rest the faster we can get that game going. And my guy here won't lie back down until you go back to sleep. Help me out, would you? Sleep."

Johnny looked into her beautiful brown eyes, winked at her and went back to sleep.

Alexis helped Sonny back to bed and decided she could afford to get a little sleep now.

"Sonny, can you watch over Johnny for awhile? I need to get a little sleep. I want to be here when he wakes again."

"Honey, go, I'll take care of him. We'll be fine until you get back."

"Call me if anything happens, ok? If he wakes up or ... anything"

"Alexis, he'll be fine. It's my turn to protect him."

Alexis leaned over him and wrapped her arms around him. He felt so good in her arms. She couldn't imagine life without him now. Her heart was his and there wasn't a thing she could do about it and frankly she didn't want to. She leaned closer and kissed him. Tears slowly ran down her cheeks.

Sonny felt every tear she shed drop onto his face and pulled her closer. They had been through a lot already and they hadn't even known each other a month yet. He wanted to pull her inside himself, make her a part of him, the very air he breathed. His search was finally over. He searched all his life to find someone who would accept him, love him, and support him. He wanted someone who was content just being with him, without wanting him to change. To love him, just as he was! He finally found her. She was finally in his arms and he would never let her go.

Alexis lifted her head and looked into his eyes and welcomed the love he was sharing with her. The only love she could remember worth having in her life was her mother's love. But, here was love, looking her in the eyes and she was drowning in it. She laid her head down on his chest careful of the bandage and lay there for a while with her arms wrapped around him. Her heart ached for this man. She knew from this day on she would awaken each day with that ache and it would comfort her as long as he was in her life.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

When Alexis walked out of General Hospital that morning it wasn't to find somewhere to lay down and sleep. Her brother and the man she loved were lying in a hospital after being shot by an insane lunatic and she wanted to know what was being done about it. Alexis hailed a taxi and asked to be taken to the Port Charles Police Department.

Upon entering the precinct, she walked to the sergeant's desk and asked to speak to the officer handling the Corinthos shooting.

"Who may I ask is inquiring?"

"My name is Alexis Davis and I am Mr. Corinthos' attorney. May I ask who is handling the case now," she asked snidely.

"That would be detective Marcus Taggert ma'am. You'll find him two doors down on your right."

Alexis turned and followed the direction he pointed. She was completely unaware of the appreciative glances she received when she entered the police department. She was in full attorney mode. These small time cops had no idea who they were dealing with and the total havoc she could create with their little cop house rules. But, they certainly were about to, especially one Marcus Taggert. Upon entering the door she was directed to, she knocked smartly to get the attention of the man sitting behind the desk.

"Can I help you, miss?"

"If you are in fact Detective Marcus Taggert then, yes, you can tell me what type of progress you've made in the Corinthos' shooting."

"Excuse me."

Alexis, looking totally put out and irritated that she was being forced to deal with incompetents pulled up a chair and sat down. She could tell this guy was sporting an ego that wouldn't quit with an abundance of arrogance. This was the type of guy that Alexis loved to put in their place and she was good at it. Very good!

"Ok, let's start again. My name is Alexis Davis, Attorney at Law. I represent Mr. Sonny Corinthos. Is that slow enough for you? Can you possibly within the realm of your understanding figure out that what I am asking you is, have you arrested Carly Corinthos for the attempted murder of Sonny Corinthos and his bodyguard?"

Alexis leaned forward and lay her elbow on the desk and gave him one of those "how did you ever make detective" looks and waited for him to respond.

"Miss Davis, I am investigating the shooting and when I know something, you'll know something."

"Nope, not good enough. You see now, that's a wrong answer. Let's try this one more time. You do know what an eyewitness is, don't you? You know I hate it when I have to step in and do a cop's job for them. It makes me rather angry to know that I'm actually paying for them to sit around on their thumbs all day long. Detective, you have two eyewitnesses lying in hospital beds at General Hospital right now. And since I have been there all night long, I do know for a fact that not one single officer of the law has set foot in that hospital to question either one of them. Hey, I may be a little off the beaten track here, you know, being from New York and all; but I find that just a tad incompetent. Don't you?"

Taggert was incensed with this little snip of a girl's speech and was having trouble containing himself. He didn't have to take this kind of abuse from anyone, much less a woman lawyer.

"Miss Davis, please don't speak to me in that manner. There is a protocol we follow here and you do not dictate what that protocol is, so I suggest you back off and let me do my job."

"If you were doing your job, I wouldn't have a reason to be here now, would I?"

"Miss Davis, I will tell you once more, it is my investigation. I am handling it."

"You know, I really hate going over a detective's head and making him look like a total idiot, but sometimes I just get the urge. Call me impulsive, neurotic, crazy even; but if there is not an arrest made today, I will be in Judge Jay Greene's office first thing in the morning to file a discrimination suit against this department on behalf of my clients. Both of them."

With that Alexis turned and walked out missing Taggert throw a stack of files across the room. She missed seeing it, but she certainly didn't miss hearing it and a twinkle of satisfaction came into her eyes. By the end of the day, Carly had been arrested and was being held without bond.

Once Carly was arrested, Alexis called the best criminal attorney in the state to represent the interests of Sonny and Johnny. It only took two days for him to build a case against Carly that could not be argued against. With the video of Carly entering the penthouse, Sonny's statement and one other eyewitness account, along with all of the evidence Alexis previously obtained, Carly's fate was sealed. She went to prison with a life sentence. "Do not pass Go! Do Not Collect $200." Sonny was finally free of her and so was Michael. After hearing the verdict she had walked out of the courthouse and run right into Taggert.

"No hard feelings, detective?"

"Miss Davis. Will you be leaving our fair city any time soon?"

"Well, no, actually I kind of like it around here. I thought I'd stick around awhile. It looks like this little town of yours needs a little kick in the pants and since I'm so good at it..."

"Oh, joy!" Disgusted with her, Taggert turned and walked away hoping he never had to lay eyes on her again.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

It had been three weeks since the shooting and every waking moment was busy for Alexis. Between caring for Sonny and Johnny, seeing to Michael's needs and trying to handle the cases she started before the shooting; Alexis was worn out. She even took care of having Sonny's penthouse cleaned up. The first time she walked into the penthouse to get some clothes for Sonny she had been physically sick. She saw where Sonny fell after being shot and the bloodstain in the carpet was large, but Johnny's blood was everywhere. She had to replace the couch and have the rugs replaced as well. She couldn't imagine anyone losing so much blood and surviving. But, he did survive. He had been moved to a private room five days after being shot and he was coming home in a couple of days. Sonny had been home for two weeks now and proving to be just as difficult as ever. She tried to keep him from doing too much, but Sonny was Sonny. And all she could do was try.

Sonny bought Penthouse 2 and ordered it to be completely renovated. He wanted Johnny to have a place to stay when he came home that was close by. He stayed at Johnny's side every day until he was released and had then went back to the hospital every day since to spend a few hours sitting with him. Johnny tried to tell him it wasn't necessary, but Sonny wouldn't listen. Johnny saved his life again and Sonny was bound to him.

After receiving a call from Dixon, Alexis needed to take a trip to New York and she wanted to go before Johnny came home. But, she there was some news she needed to impart to Sonny first. One of the investigations she started prior to the shooting proved fruitful and it had a direct bearing on Sonny. She was staying in Penthouse 2 since it had been renovated for Johnny and was expecting Sonny for dinner. Upon hearing his knock she called for him to come in.

"Alexis, sweetheart, you ready for dinner?"

"Yeah, but I have some news for you that you may want to sit down for."

Sonny looked at her skeptically.

"This doesn't sound good."

"Well, I think that is going to depend on your point of view. I've done it again."

"What have you done?"

"I stepped in and took care of a problem without consulting you."

Sonny lowered his head, closed his eyes and waited.

"Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Garrett were arrested three days ago and charged with child abuse. They were sentenced to thirty years each."

Sonny caught his breath and slowly raised his eyes to meet hers.

"Sonny, you have to breathe. I know I should have told you. But, I didn't know if I could get the proof that I needed to convict them. Sonny? Say something."

He couldn't move. Was it the same Garrett? Was it true? How did she find them?

"Alexis...how?"

"I called the child endangerment facility in the town you lived in. They keep a listing of every foster care family that has ever had a complaint leveled against them. I started from there and went backwards. It's the same family you were..." She couldn't say it, at least not until he recognized the truth of what she was saying. He had to be given time to process it.

"It's ok. Go on, tell me the rest."

"There were several charges of abuse, but no one was ever able to prove it. I had a couple of my associates begin a search of all children that were ever placed with them. They faxed the list to me; I scanned it onto my laptop, took your name off and reprinted it. I sent it back to them and told them to start at the top and see how many they could find who would be willing to testify against the Garrett's. There were three who were hospitalized due to physical abuse. All three testified and there is no longer a Garrett foster home."

"Why?" Sonny's voice was ragged. He was stunned.

"Because they were hurting children. Because they hurt you."

Sonny brought her to him with such force that she had trouble keeping her balance as well as her breath. He held her tighter than he had ever held anyone before in his life. His body was shaking and he couldn't control it. He brought his hands up to her face and stared into her eyes. His hands began to caress her face, to know every inch of it. He looked into her eyes once more and asked her again...

"Why...?" He needed more.

"Because, I love you."

"Alexis, I didn't know it was possible to love someone this much. I want to hold you... close... feel you breathe... I want to pull you inside of me so you can never leave me."

"Sonny, I'm not going anywhere. I am here now, with you. I am yours for as long as you want me. The first thing I want to see each morning when I wake is your face. My day does not find peace until I see you. I cannot close my eyes at night without seeing your face. I want nothing more than to be with you."


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Alexis was on her way to New York to meet with Dixon. Since she last spoke to him a lot had happened and even though she loved Johnny, she still needed to know about his past. She had to find out what connection, if any, was between them.

She arrived at Central Park a few minutes early and sat down to enjoy the afternoon sun while she waited for Dixon to arrive. She had only been there a few minutes when she saw him approaching and stood to welcome him.

"Hi, Dixon. How have you been?"

"Very busy. Very busy, indeed."

"I take it you have information for me."

"Yeah and you better sit down. This is going to take awhile."

It took Dixon only two hours to deliver all of the information he uncovered. It only took fifteen minutes for her world to come crashing down around her.

Dixon taped his meeting with her so she would be able to hear it more than once. She slowly, hesitantly accepted the tape from him; turned and silently walked out of the park. She would need to hear it over and over before it completely sank in. She went to her apartment and sat there unmoving for hours.

She didn't notice the shadows creeping across the floor as night fell, nor did she notice when the sun chased them back into hiding the next morning. She sat there as the memories came flooding back. She remembered the days that were absent from her memory, those that had been too painful to remember. She remembered the horrors she was subjected to as a child. She let the memories come one by one. And she grieved all over again. In fact, she realized she had been grieving all of her life. She just couldn't remember why. She did now.

Dixon had told her to call him when she was ready. He had expenses and witnesses to pay off and he wanted to know what she wanted him to do next. She called him twenty-four hours later, finished business with him and was now on her way back to Port Charles. To Johnny. She needed to see Johnny now, to deal with him. Now that she knew who he was. It wasn't Alexis Davis on that flight back to Port Charles. Natasha Cassadine was returning to resolve things with Johnny.

Sonny met her at the airport and couldn't believe it was the same woman he put on his jet two days before. Something was wrong. Something was very wrong. He walked toward her and began to put his arms around her and was shocked when she withdrew with a strangled cry. "Don't!"

"Don't touch me, Sonny."

Alexis would need every ounce of strength she possessed to get through the next few hours and if she allowed Sonny to hold her she knew she wouldn't be able to hold it together long enough to do what she must.

"I'm sorry, Sonny. But, I need you to listen very carefully and trust that I know what's best right now. I will need you with me the next couple of days. But, I won't be able to get through it if you touch me. You are going to hear a lot over the next few hours and you may just decide that it's too much for you. If you do, please understand that I will not hold any animosity toward you if you decide to walk away. But, please, just don't touch me. I am going to have to remain strong and I won't be able to if you touch me. And before you even ask, yes I do love you but, I have to get through this first. Can you honor my wishes, can you trust me?"

Sonny was terrified. He was looking at her, but this was not the woman he had known over the past 2 months. This was a totally different person. It was very evident she wanted no physical contact whatsoever. He would have to trust her words since he couldn't feel her response to him as he learned to do. He had to honor her request. He loved her too much not to. She had done so much for him and it was his turn to stand by her, whatever the problem was.

"You have my word. I trust you to know best. Whatever you need, you just have to ask."

"Is Johnny home yet?"

"Yes, I picked him up this morning"

"How is he doing?"

"Doc says he's fine and should be able to get back to a semi-normal life in a few days. He's bounced back from this faster than I would have expected him to."

"I need you to do me a favor."

"Name it."

Requesting that he not ask any questions, Alexis told him what she needed and then asked him to take her to see Johnny. She was going to have to be very careful with Johnny. The ordeal he had just been through was enough, but what lay ahead could very well put him back in the hospital. She simply hadn't known Johnny long enough to predict how he would react to what she had to tell him.

Alexis entered penthouse 2 and found Johnny asleep on the couch. She didn't want to bother him yet and she really needed to give Sonny some extra time to do what she asked of him. So she went upstairs to take a shower hoping that the water beating down on her would revive her some. When she finished she walked back downstairs and pulled a manila envelope out of her briefcase and laid it on the coffee table beside Johnny. Just as she was about to stand she heard the door open behind her and Sonny entered.

"Okay?"

"Yeah, I took care of it. Don't worry, just holler when you're ready."

"Ready for what?" Johnny awakened just as Sonny entered.

Alexis turned to see Johnny looking at her with a beautiful smile on his face. She braced herself for what has about to happen, leaned down and kissed him on the cheek.

"Hi, big brother. How are you?"

"I'm fine but that big ox over there won't believe me."

"Hey, that's my big ox you're talking about."

"Yeah, I know. Just don't go getting mushy on me."

"Johnny, I need to know how strong you're feeling."

"I'm strong enough, why, what's up?"

"I need to talk to you and I want to make sure you're ok first."

"Hey, Lexie, I'm fine. But, you're not; something's wrong. Sit down and talk to me. Tell me what's wrong."


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Alexis sat down beside Johnny and reached for the envelope she left on the coffee table when she came in. She pulled out the document inside and held it in her hand as she started to speak.

"Johnny, my birth name was not Alexis Davis. I took that name when I joined the Harvard law program. I wanted to get as far away from my past as I possibly could. I believe that you have done the same thing."

Johnny felt the uneasiness begin to rise within him. He didn't like where this was going.

"I need you to know Johnny that I love you very much and everything that you and I have experienced in the past two months was real and it has meant the world to me. You are my brother in every way that matters to me. That will never change. Do you believe that?"

"I know you love me. I ain't so good at saying it myself, but you gotta know I do... I mean... you know... love you." Alexis smiled at his clumsy and sincere attempt to share his feelings.

"Then hold my hand and look at this document. It's my birth certificate."

Johnny took her hand in his and did as she asked. He scanned the certificate and found the name she wanted him to see. "Natasha Alexandra Cassadine." He threw her hand down as all color fell from his face. He attempted to get up and fell backward as he lost his balance. She knew from his face that he was trying to run, just as she had.

"Johnny wait, listen, I changed my name to get away from them. Please wait, Johnny you're going to hurt yourself. Johnny, please don't run from me. You don't have to be afraid of me."

"Alexis, don't. I can't go back there. Don't make me. I can't. It will kill me. You can't make me go back, I won't. Sonny? Don't let her take me back."

It was the voice of a child and Alexis knew she had to get control of him. The trauma that he suffered at 'their' hands was just as damaging to him as it had been to her. She motioned for Sonny to come closer.

"Johnny, Sonny is right here and you know that he is not going to let you go anywhere. I don't want to take you anywhere. You are right where you belong. This is your home now."

Sonny quickly stepped closer so Johnny could see him. "Hey man. You're not going anywhere. I need you here too much. But, you gotta calm down. After what you've done for me, I wouldn't let anybody take you anywhere you didn't want to go? Not even Alexis, man."

Johnny calmed somewhat and turned back to Alexis. "How did you find me? I was so careful trying to hide where I came from."

"That was my question when I saw your signature on those adoption papers. I reacted the same way you just did. Only I got away with it. Remember? I left for New York that morning."

Sonny was taking it all in and was finding it hard to keep up. There was something big going on here and it was enough to terrorize two of the most important people in his life. But, he promised her he would stay quiet until it was over and he would keep his word to her.

Alexis needed to finish telling Johnny what she learned from Dixon so she steeled herself to begin again.

"Johnny, I need to tell you my story. Do you think you can handle it right now?"

"I need to know who you are. I need to know I wasn't wrong about you. Tell me."


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

"I was nine years old when my mother was murdered. Until a few days ago there was a lot about my past that I didn't remember. It was so painful I just blocked out days at a time. When I saw your signature on Sonny's adoption papers I thought 'they' had found me. But, you were different. You weren't like them at all. I had to know who you were. So, I called an investigator I know and requested he find out all he could about you. I couldn't take a chance that you were sent after me. When he told me what he found my world caved in, but I began remembering it all. My mother had a visitor one night, she told me to take Kristina and hide her. Johnny, I remembered I had a little sister. Mother didn't want the visitor to see us so I took Kristina and hid her. It was Helena, Johnny. Helena was the one who came to see mama."

She saw the fear come into Johnny's eyes. It wasn't a man's fear. It was the fear of a little boy. She laid her hand on top of his and felt him tense as if to pull away, and then force himself to relax.

"Johnny, I took my little sister to the stable and laid her on a pile of hay. I then went back inside and watched Helena kill my mother."

Alexis dropped her head to stare at the floor as she related the events and she felt Johnny's hand come out from under hers and take her hand in his

"I tried for the longest time to wake my mother up, but she just wouldn't."

Both men could tell Alexis was reliving the moment and they both wanted to hold her and comfort her. Sonny couldn't. She already told him he couldn't and Johnny knew first hand that stories like these had to be told in a way they could be handled by the person telling the story. He knew without being told that he couldn't put his arms around her until she finished the story.

"When I couldn't wake her up, I went to get Kristina. She was now my responsibility; I had to take care of her. But, when I got to the stables, she was gone. I looked everywhere for her. I couldn't find her."

"Oh no-o-o-o, I took her. It was me, wasn't it?"

Johnny suddenly realized what he had done so long ago and hung his head. The little sister he adopted as his own and lost was Alexis' sister. He was the one who found the baby in the stables. Alexis grew up without her sister because he took her. He felt the agonizing guilt wash over him.

Alexis looked at him and simply said, "Yes Johnny, you took my little sister."

Johnny couldn't look at her. He had been the reason for much of Alexis' pain through the years and he would never forgive himself.

Alexis was watching Johnny very closely and knew what he was thinking. She could feel him withdrawing.

"You took her and cared for when I couldn't. They came and took me away that night. I never saw Kristina again. I have been grieving for her ever since. Mother told me to take care of her and I didn't. I didn't do what she told me to do and I lost my little sister. Johnny, because you took her, she didn't have to go through what I went through. She was never scarred the way I was. You protected her and didn't even know you were doing it."

Johnny looked into Alexis' eyes and saw she wasn't blaming him for taking her sister.

"They made me go live in the castle on the cliffs." She continued. "You know which one I'm talking about?"

"Yeah, they had me for awhile, but I got away."

Johnny reached toward her and stopped as he saw her recoil. Then reached again toward the sleeve of her sweater. He pulled it up and then pulled up his own. He had the very same marks that she did on his arm. He looked up at her with tears in his eyes, she had known the same pain he had known. She had known the fire.

"Can you tell me what they mean, Alexis?"

"Yes, but you must hear the rest of the story first."

He sat back to let her finish.

"They take what they want and what they don't want, they destroy. Johnny, they wanted you destroyed."

"Why me? I didn't do anything to them. At first, I didn't even know them."

"But, they knew you. They knew who your father was, and they knew who your mother was and just as they began to destroy my life the night of my mother's death, they began to destroy yours as well the night you lost little Lexie."

"You keep saying 'they'. Tell me who 'they' are."

"Helena and Stavros Cassadine."


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

"So you think you can tell me who my mother was, do you?"

Johnny's voice was filled with hostility. He couldn't help it, he thought he finally left it all behind him. He never wanted to hear those names again. None of them! He didn't want to feel the abandonment again. He never wanted to feel that kind of physical pain again. He didn't want to remember the mother who abandoned him to a life of torture.

"Alexis, I don't want to hear anymore. Please. Just let me be."

"Johnny, I can't. I need you too much in my life to leave it like this. Please hear me out. I need you to hear me out."

"Do you think you can take away the fact that I was abandoned as a baby? Do you think you can take away the pain of my Lexie dying?"

"Johnny, you weren't abandoned. You were taken from your mother when your father found out about you. You were not a baby when you were taken. You were a little boy who was very much loved by his mother. Your father wanted you protected from his wife. He wanted you to grow up free from hate. You were his favorite son. He wanted you close by him so he could see you every day if he wanted to. So, he took you to his groundskeeper's wife. I believe you called her 'Nana'. You were with her a few years before you were found out. Your father didn't do such a good job of hiding you. Because he wanted you close by him there was always the risk that his wife would find out. And then the night came when you went in search of your little sister. I'm told she had a knack for wandering off. When you couldn't find her you went to the big house, didn't you? The castle."

Johnny was beginning to remember. "I couldn't find her anywhere. It rained all day and it was getting dark. It was the only place I hadn't looked. So, I went to the castle and knocked on the door. It looked like maybe a butler or something that answered the door, but when I peeked in I saw this tall woman. She looked at me like she had seen a ghost. I tried to ask about Lexie but she went wild, screaming all over the place. I ran. I ran as fast as I could back to Nana's. When I got there, Nana had found Lexie and she was sick. I heard her coughing. She couldn't catch her breath. I took her away from Nana. I wanted to make her well. Pap came running in and whispered something to Nana. I wasn't paying too much attention to them. I was watching Lexie and she got real quiet all of a sudden, I couldn't hear her breathing anymore."

Johnny clutched at Alexis as his voice rose in anguish. "Alexis, she stopped breathing. That's when Nana took her away from me and told me she died. Nana was crying and holding Lexie. I couldn't make her well. I took your sister and she died. Alexis, I didn't mean it. I just wanted to protect her. I didn't mean to..."

"I know Johnny, I know. After Nana took Lexie, Helena came after you didn't she? She took you to the... castle."

Johnny remembered where he was taken and he finally remembered what they did done to him. He looked at Alexis. "Did they take you there too? Did they do it to you too?"

"Yes, Johnny. You and I were branded as bastards. Those are what the marks are on our arms. And unless I'm mistaken you have a larger scar on your back. If you were to take a pen and connect the scars you would see the Greek symbol that was used for marking bastards. Cigarette burns made the scars. Stavros held you down while Helena marked you for life with the tip of a lit cigarette."

Sonny stood transfixed. He was hearing it, but he couldn't believe it. He began to understand why Johnny was the way he was. But, what struck him the most was the incredible strength both of them had to have in order to survive the ordeal without going completely insane. His arms ached with the need to hold Alexis and make the hurt go away. But, this pain, this agony he couldn't take away from her or Johnny. They shared the grief, they shared the pain; only the two of them could help each other out of it. He would be by their side though, patiently waiting if either of them needed him. As he tried to calm his own soul, he heard Alexis begin to speak again.

"The only part of the story I seem to be missing, Johnny, is how you got from the island to Puerto Rico where you met up with Sonny. But, that can wait for now. There are still a couple of pieces to the story missing for you. Yes, I know who your mother was and I know who your father was. Do you want to know?"

"Alexis, did she love me? That's all I want to know. I have hated my mother all my life for abandoning me. Now you tell me she didn't. How do you know?"

Alexis reached to pick up the manila envelope again, pulled out a picture and handed it to him. "This is your mother. Look at her Johnny. Look at her face. Is that the face of a woman who would abandon a child?"

Johnny looked long and hard at the picture. It was a picture of 2 people. It was the boy that held his attention first. He was 3 maybe 4 years old and looked happy and contented as he leaned against the woman; his hands disappearing in the folds of the dress she was wearing as he held onto her leg. The woman standing next to the boy was looking down at him with her arm around him. She was smiling the sweetest smile. He had seen that smile before. Johnny raised his astonished eyes to Alexis' face, reached over and touched her cheek.

"Lexie?"

"Yes, Johnny, the name you gave your little adopted sister was mine first. I am your sister, in every way, and so was Kristina."

A sob broke from Johnny as he bowed his head and allowed the memory that had been buried so deep to wash over him. She had been his first love. He loved her from the moment of her birth. They had been inseparable. He had cared for her, protected her from the falls little children have, even took the blame when she got into trouble. He remembered her stubbornness, her spirit, her laughter. He remembered her love of life and he remembered how much she loved him. Their life had been one perfect day after another. Brother and sister taking on the world together, until...

Alexis saw the grief he was trying to hide from her and gently brought his head to her shoulder and with one arm around him and her hand on his head she held him to her and rocked him as a mother would a crying child. She didn't remember him as he remembered her. She was too young to remember when he was taken. There would be stories later to share, stories he would tell her and they would again laugh with each other. She sat there with him for the longest time. When he finally lifted his head he slowly reached up with both hands to hold her face between them. He needed to see her, not the woman she was now, he needed to see his Lexie again. He looked into her eyes searching... she smiled gently at him and there, for a few moments he saw her. With all of the tenderness his big body was capable of he took her into his arms...

"I found you little Lexie... I found you..."

They forgot about Sonny. Didn't notice he left the room. They were finding each other again after being torn apart so many years ago. Sonny didn't wanted to intrude on their time together. When they heard him come back in Alexis turned to Sonny and told him she was ready now and he immediately left again.

"Johnny, how are you feeling? You know you've been through a lot lately; first with the shooting and now with all that you've remembered. Are you ok?"

"I couldn't be better, Lexie. And I am never going to let you out of my sight again."

Johnny watched her face grow serious again and waited for her to continue.

"Johnny, the story isn't finished yet."

Turning at the sound of the door opening, Alexis, looking at her brother with tenderness gently placed her hand on his cheek, stood up and walked toward Sonny. She took his hand and kissed him then turned toward the young woman he brought in with him. Alexis took her hand and guided her over to Johnny.

"Johnny, I believe you have already met our guest once in your life, but I'd like to introduce you to her again. This is Kristina, your youngest sister."

Johnny had risen to his feet when Sonny came in. As Alexis walked toward him holding the hand of the young woman, he slid to his knees and tears were again running down his face. Alexis didn't have to tell him who it was. He knew. He had loved this little girl. He had kept her image in his heart since the day he thought he lost her. He reached toward her and pulled her into his embrace. And with him on his knees holding her, she quietly holding him, Alexis stepped toward them and put her arms around both of them. And together, they released the years of torment, loneliness and grief.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Sonny and Alexis sat at the dining room table watching Kristina and Johnny talk. They were getting to know each other again. There were still questions to be answered, but there was time. Now was the time for healing. Alexis watched Johnny's eyes linger on his little sister, watched his hands touch her for confirmation that she was actually sitting right there with him. Alexis' heart was full and she reached over to capture Sonny's hand.

She turned her complete attention to him. She needed to know if he was going to stay with her, or leave her because of all that he heard. She wouldn't blame him for walking away. Her past was ugly, very ugly.

Sonny was right there in the moment with her and with all the tenderness and love he could find, he reached over and gently pulled up her sleeve and began to kiss the scars he saw there. This woman was his. He wasn't going to let her go ever. He was bound to her. His life would never again be his own. From this moment on for every choice, every decision he was called upon to make; he would first think of her. For her to come out of all she endured in her lifetime, to sit here with him as the strong, capable, and honorable woman she was; proved to him that violence didn't have to be the solution to the problems of life.

He would learn from her, from the wisdom she acquired over the years. Sonny looked at his watch. He looked up at her and nodded briefly.

Alexis stood and walked over to her brother and sister. She held out her hands, one to her brother, Johnny and the other to her sister, Kristina.

"It's time, guys." She looked back at Sonny and with her eyes requested he join them then turned toward the door.

They stood arm in arm in the fading rays of sunlight as the sun began its final descent. The brother, with an arm around each sister and the sisters, arms linked around their brother. They stood there in the shadow of their mother's love and Johnny began to speak...

"Mom, we're here. We're together. The three of us. You can rest now. They are with me and I will take care of them. No one will ever separate us again. Be at peace now and know that we love you."

He looked down at each of his sisters and felt the warmth of his tears slip down his face. They were tears of relief, tears of happiness, and tears void of grief. He smiled lovingly at Alexis and bent to kiss the top of her head. "Thank you for finding me, for giving me back my life."

Alexis turned her face toward Johnny and smiled gently. She reached back for Sonny and brought him close to her. Her own tears ran unchecked down her face. She finally had what she always craved; a loving family, and a man who loved her without reservation. She looked toward the horizon, laid her head on the shoulder of her brother and felt herself let go. She knew she would need to revisit her mother every once in a while, but she would no longer be tied to the ritual she created so many years ago. She was finally at peace. She looked over at Sonny and smiled. There would be no more secrets. She felt a sense of freedom she had never known before. As quietly as she could, for his ears only she whispered, "You are my life and I love you".


End file.
